Rio Grande Turkey

The Rio Grande turkey was originally found in the southern Great Plains, western Texas and northeast Mexico. They have expanded their range and been introduced into Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, South Dakota, and California.

The Rio Grande turkey, at full maturity, is approximately four feet tall with a slightly smaller body size than the Eastern wild turkey. It is pale and copper-colored having tail feathers and tail/rump coverts (short feathers located at the base of the tail) tipped with a yellowish buff. An alternating color pattern includes tan feathers with medium or dark brown buffed tips. The Rio Grande’s color is consistently lighter than the Eastern or Florida bird, but is darker than the same feathers in the Merriam or Gould subspecies. Feathers of the hen breast, sides and flanks are tipped with pale, pinkish buff.

Most landowners find turkeys to be more of a nuisance than a trophy to hunt.  This provides us with ample private land for the turkey-hunting enthusiast.  Turkey hunters are required to obtain tags for turkeys.  However, these tags can be easily obtained either over the counter of via the internet from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.